Preview: PFL 2 ‘Pacheco vs. Budd’

Heavyweights

Denis Goltsov (29-7, 7-2 PFL) vs. Yorgan De Castro (9-3, 0-0 PFL)

ODDS: Goltsov (-300), De Castro (+240)

Goltsov might have made it to the 2022 PFL World Championships were it not for visa issues that forced him out of the postseason. As it stands, the former Absolute Championship Berkut titleholder is one of the most experienced heavyweights in this year’s field and should be one of the favorites if all goes as planned. The 32-year-old Russian works well behind a solid jab and decent array of kicks on the feet, but he does his best when he closes the distance against his opponents. From there, Goltsov will either force the clinch or shove his foe into the fence while looking to execute trip takedowns and throws. Goltsov is heavy on top, where he will look to advance position and threaten with chokes, though sometimes he is not as offensively active as one might like.

De Castro rebounded from a forgettable 1-3 UFC stint with three consecutive victories before signing with the PFL. However, he was struggling to manage distance and likely losing to Junior dos Santos before “Cigano” suffered a shoulder injury in the third round of their headlining encounter at Eagle Fighting Championship 47. De Castro is a short, squat heavyweight with heavy leg kicks and reasonably fast hands, but his offense can stagnate when he waits for opportunities to counter. Conversely, his attempts to close distance by swinging wildly leave his chin exposed, as evidenced by a first-round KO loss to Jarjis Danho in his final UFC appearance. He will have to be creative when finding openings against the 6-foot-5 Goltsov, who will likely be content to probe with his jab until he finds openings to initiate grappling exchanges. The former combat sambo champion should be able to impose his will through takedowns and top control to grind his way to a decision victory.

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Pacheco vs. Budd
Cappelozza vs. Scheffel
Goltsov vs. De Castro
Kuniev vs. Ferreira
Ladd vs. Kolesnyk
The Prelims